She collapsed somewhere near civilization.

Somewhere along the way, she had powered down. She had no recollection of it but when they found her and started calling 911 she was 'human' again. She felt nothing but white hot pain. Alex barely saw anything, barely heard anything. It was lucky she was even able to get as far as she did.

White hot pain turned to numbness and she could see long enough to find herself in an ambulence. The world slipped to black as relief washed over her and she let go.

That was the first time she slept.

It was a miracle she'd gotten as far as she had, they were muttering the first time she was conscious enough to register voices. She was doublely lucky whatever fall she'd taken hadn't broken more bones. Broken elbow, three fractured ribs and a dislocated ankle, not to mention half a dozen scraps, bruises, a mild case of smoke inhalation, and a nasty burn across her lower back that they couldn't quite figure out how it got there. No internal bleeding, no bruised organs. The young woman had come out with her life intact, they said.

Police wanted to question her about what she might know about the warehouse fire, but the doctors (bless their hearts) wouldn't let them near her. There wasn't anything she could have told them they'd believe. What, that the members of Order and Chaos took up arms against each other and tried to burn an entire faction and their help alive? No, they'd never believe that...

The nurse replaced the morphine drip and Alex slept for the second time.

She wouldn't be able to dance for at least six months, but her ankle would be supporting weight in six weeks. She'd managed to half relocated it and only sprained the tendons and not break them. Her elbow would be healed in ten weeks, though she'd never have full range of motion again. They carefully rolled her over to her side to replace the bandage on her back.

She screamed in pain and the world went black again.

The next time she woke, it was a slow process. She was aware of her breathing first, and the beeping of the machines in the hospital room first. Alex stretched her awareness through her limbs, wincing at both her elbow and her ankle but not in any great pain. Her back pulled and tightened against her breathing, but it no longer brought a scream to her lips.

Eyes opened slowly, green staring up at the florencent lights. The white of the room was blinding and painful to her eyes, but she welcomed it to the darkness behind her eyelids. She slowly turned her head, purple and black hair falling over her shoulders. On a chair in the room, curled up with her kindle and a blanket, sat her mother, sleeping quietly.

Another rush of relief washed over Alex and she started to cry, hickuping quietly. The sound startled her mother, who rushed over to her in a panic.

"Honey, honey are you okay? Do I need to call the nurse?" her mother said, worry in her voice. Alex shook her head (cursing the movement as the world spun slightly) and licked her lips, finding her voice.

"N-no I'm just... just happy you're here. I-I'm sorry I got like this... I'm sorry... I'm sorry..." she sobbed as her mother gently hugged her. She stroked her hair and shushed her as the young woman cried herself back to sleep.

The last time she woke up from her sleep, there was no one in the room.

This was fine for her. Alex shifted herself into a sitting position, glancing at a mirror in the corner. A mirror...

She thought about it, what had happened that night. She'd stumbled on the actual civil war that paraded around under everyone's noses. There'd been no sides, just one group completely bent on the anhilation of the other. How many had gotten ingured, how many had fallen. How many were damaged beyond repair? She'd heard the screams of the Dark Mirror Princess, she'd watched someone yank something from another's chest that made them drop dead.

Moreover, she'd seen a group of people willing to burn another group of people alive just for the sake of their cause. No remorse, no regrets. It didn't matter that they were all human deep down (they had to be). It didn't matter than any of them had family or friends. No. That group was willing to do anything to destory the Dark Mirrors, and it didn't matter who stood in their way.

She glanced out the window into the hall. What if there had been civilians in that warehouse? Were they willing to sacrifice the good people of their own city just to eliminate an entire faction? They had no qualms about setting the building on fire with people still in it, what would keep them from doing the same to civilians who got caught in the cross fire?

Alex did not know much about the war, except what little Camelot had told her, and what she knew of it from Loke. She'd figured out a few things from that battle though. It was clear that it wasn't just Chaos vs Order anymore. It was clear they weren't going to hold back to take out each other.

And it would be the civilians who got caught in the crossfire, eventually. A war can only stay hidden so long before it spills out into the streets. Camelot had told her to find a cause to fight for. Fighting for people like her mother who couldn't fight for themselves? That sounded like a good enough cause to her.

There was little she could do though. She was a Page, not a Knight like Camelot. She doubted anyone would listen to her, much less understand her point of view. Perhaps the senshi from back then, the one who's family she helped protect, would understand her views. Besides, she was just one Page; how could she protect an entire city from the mass of powered individuals?

She turned to the mirror again, as if hoping someone would appear in it. Until then, perhaps it would be best to stick with the Dark Mirror Court. When she had the power she needed, then she'd do something drastic to help the city.

"A warning to the people, the good and the evil... This is war..." she muttered quietly.

A war indeed.

[ WC: 1087 ]